Devon Wargames February meeting

 Saturday was the February meeting of the Devon Wargames Group, with Chas putting on a Crusader game and JJ setting up a AWI game.  I joined Chas' game, which was using Deus Vult, and became a vassal lord to King Stumpy the Last. My command was allocated to a flank march on the left, so I didn't come on until turn 2, but that gave me a chance to see how the rules work.

things look interesting between Steve M and Chas.

The game involved 8 players, 4 per side, with Crusaders facing off against Turks. Each player had 4 or 5 units, usually a mix of infantry and cavalry.  Nathan commanded the Crusaders, with Steve M, Vince and me as his vassals. Andy lead the Turkish horde with Chas, Steve H and Michael.  The Turks reinforced their left, which left Chas' command outflanked by my flank march.  Thinks went badly for the Turks from then on, despite their best efforts and some good attacks.  It did help that both Chas and Andy managed to roll double 1's on morale rolls and rout their troops. 

Turks on the right, with Crusaders on their far flank.

My gallant command, appearing on the left flank

Turkish infantry types, lots of arrows but not real fighting men

The left flank sweeps forward

Knights gather for a charge!

Close up of one of the Crusader units, Turkopole lancers possibly?

Thanks to Chas and the rest for a good days gaming.  Deus Valt is different to other sets out there and I enjoyed the game.  It makes a change to only fight in your turn, so it is possible to be charged and butchered without getting to hit back.  This makes positioning and timing of charges crucial, more so than other rulesets do.  The only thing I didn't like was being able to fire into a melee if you could hit the unengaged flank or rear of the enemy unit, but that's just a little bug and didn't change my general enjoyment of the game and rules.  I AM NOT GETTING ANY CRUSADERS THOUGH!!!!

Well, maybe not anyway. 

The other game was a 15mm AWI game by JJ, so please check out his blog to get a decent view of the game and scenario.  As usual, his games always look great and play well.  You can go right off some people you know. 

A motley crew for sure.

The future of wargames?  Nobody anywhere near the table.

British and Germans upsetting the rebellious colonials

Take care and keep rolling those dice.